Quinoa Lasagna

Quinoa Lasagna

22 Reviews

From the EatingWell Kitchen

This healthy quinoa lasagna recipe has a layer of quinoa (rather than noodles) along with vegetables, cheese and herbs. Though it tastes like comfort food, don't worry, this quinoa lasagna recipe is not too heavy—you'll still have room for dessert. To save time, use your favorite jarred tomato sauce in this vegetarian lasagna. (Adapted from “Quinoa Revolution” by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming; Pintail Books, 2012.)

Preparation

Active

45 m

Ready In

1 h 30 m

Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Combine water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Evenly spread the quinoa in the prepared dish.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Wipe out the saucepan, then add oil and heat over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring frequently, until transparent and starting to brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are softened and very little moisture is left in the pan, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and sauce. Stir until hot. Remove from heat.

Spread one-third of the sauce over the quinoa. Make a layer of all the zucchini, then all the cottage cheese mixture, then half the remaining sauce, then all the spinach. Finish with the remaining sauce and spread mozzarella on top.

Bake the lasagna until it is hot and the cheese is melted, bubbling and slightly browned around the edges, 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

Reviews 22

Loved it!
I used homemade sauce - and there was probably 2 1/2 cups. I used 3 cloves of garlic and 1 whole onion but I think it was lacking something. Definitely would make it again but will add some more spices or perhaps some crushed red pepper flakes. Definitely could get 12 servings out of it.
Pros: It is very healthy for you and quite satisfying, but could have used a little more flavor.
Cons: I don't eat cottage cheese so I substituted with Part-Skim Ricotta Cheese.

March 04, 2015

By: EatingWell User

Going on the favorite list....
Such a great dish....I added more Onions, garlic, mushrooms, zuchinni, spinach & especially sauce. 2 cups is definitely not enough sauce for 3 layers. I used 3 cups and could have probably used more.
Pros: Easy, great flavor, meatless but still tons of protein

April 10, 2014

By: EatingWell User

Can hardly wait to make again......WITH CHANGES!!!
After reading other's comments, I did add an egg to the quinoa and baked it for about 10 min. Next time I will actually add two and bake it a bit longer. I added 3-4 minced garlic cloves to the water for the quinoa. I would use ricotta rather than cottage cheese because the cottage cheese just didn't cook down and was lumpy---just like cottage cheese!! hmmmm!! I added more basil and oregano than called for and would add even more, as it was rather bland. Also added four minced garlic cloves to cottage cheese mixture. Even with it being bland, I can hardly wait to make it again with some changes. Even thought about placing no-cook lasagna noodles on bottom of pan for stability when serving.

March 26, 2014

By: EatingWell User

Delicious!
This tasted wonderful as printed except I used more sauce, which may have caused it to be a little juicy. Next time I will try these variations: 1) Mix an egg with the cooked quinoa, put it in the bottom of pan and bake until crust-like. Then add the rest of the ingredients and continue baking. 2) Use dry curd cottage cheese to eliminate some of the liquid. 3) Add salt/pepper (and maybe some ground red pepper flakes) to cottage cheese mixture. 4) Slice zucchini into long, thin slices. Another idea is to toast the uncooked quinoa and put it in the bottom of the pan and layer the remaining ingredients as recipe states. The quinoa will absorb some of the liquid as it cooks.
Pros: Easy, healthy
Cons: Need more sauce and more spices

March 04, 2014

By: EatingWell User

Mine looks nothing like the picture!
What the heck? Mine did not look anything like the picture. Did you use glue? Big sloppy mess. And the 2 cups of sauce does not divide into 3. It does not spread across a 9x13 inch pan 3 times. Also, my zucchini was too thickly sliced. It would have been nice to know that before I set the table and I would have included steak knives.
Pros: Good flavor, healthy
Cons: goopy

September 05, 2013

By: cookiebreath

Awesome
I made this with a pre-mixed pasta sauce that had artichoke and pancetta in it so it was even more flavorful. Loved this recipe, will definitely make it again.

June 26, 2013

By: EatingWell User

Wonderful, and crazy healthy to boot
Used good quality bottled sauce, and increased the sauce based on reviews. This tasted SO good! Plus, there are fewer layers than regular lasagna so it came together easier and faster.
An instant classic in my home. Even my 16-month old son liked it. Highly recommended.
Pros: healthy, delicious, easy

May 30, 2013

By: EatingWell User

found quinoa in a specialty grocery store five years ago and have been in love ever since. So when I found this recipe in the Mar/Apr Eating Well Magazine I made it that night. I love simple ingredients in recipes, especially when they are packed with a lot of flavor and are so healthy. I make my own pasta sauce and keep packages in my freezer to have on hand for recipes like this. I do recommend using Parmesan Reggiano because it's flavor is intense and enhances the flavors when mixed with the other cheeses. My second recommendation is to toast the rinsed quinoa to give it a nutty flavor.
This recipe reheats beautifully, so leftovers are wonderful. Best part about this recipe, my son-in-law hates his veggies and had never heard of quinoa. He love this lasagna!